How To Get More Clients With Instagram Ads For Photographers In 2025

Looking to run Instagram ads for photographers? With its visually focused nature and advanced targeting options, Instagram seems to be a powerful marketing tool for whoever is working in wedding, portrait, or commercial photography. However, many photographers are still struggling with ineffective Instagram ads and wonder if they should keep wasting money this way. 

If you are one of them, you’ve been in the right place! I have been running ads on Facebook and Instagram for over 10 years for clients in different industries, including photography. In today’s article, I will help you navigate photography Instagram ads effectively, make your ads stand out, and get more clients with super handy tips. Let’s start!

Do Instagram Ads Work For Photographers?

Yes, they do! 

As a visually-focused platform, Instagram can work great for photography advertisements of all kinds, including wedding, portrait, and commercial ones. 

Whether it is a bride and groom-to-be planning for their wedding or a business looking for product photography, most people search online for photography services and shooting ideas. 

As the world’s largest photo-sharing social media platform, Instagram is certainly one of the most common places those potential clients visit. 

Combined with a variety of targeting options that Instagram ads offer, photographers can reach the right audience and get clients.

In fact, some wedding photographers report that more than 60% of their wedding inquiries originate from Instagram. 

That’s an impressive number and a clear explanation of why you should advertise your photography service on Instagram.

Common Mistakes When Running Instagram Ads For Photographers

While Instagram ads can potentially empower photographers, not all can succeed with them. This is mostly due to some common mistakes below:

Targeting wrong audiences

Targeting the wrong audience such as married instead of engaged couples is the main reason why a photography Instagram ad doesn’t work.

Therefore, the first thing you need to do when advertising on Instagram is to research and draw your customer persona. This will be the base for your ad content creation.

Using ineffective ad creative

Some photographers simply boost organic posts on Instagram, hoping they will bring them more bookings.

However, while the boosting feature can be more convenient, it can be less effective because posts for organic engagement don’t necessarily work for paid advertising.

Instead, you need to create dedicated images, videos, and copy for ads that resonate with your campaign objectives.

Lacking a sales funnel

Photography is an expensive service, thus, it’s not easy to convert a viewer into a client with a single ad.

To succeed, you need to create different campaigns following a sales funnel to guide the prospect through different stages of the buying process: Awareness > Interest > Decision > Action.

How To Create Effective Instagram Ads For Photographers?

Creating effective photography Instagram ads that drive bookings is not just about showcasing your beautiful works.

You need to set a clear objective, precise audience targeting, and a suitable ad format. Then, you must craft compelling ad creatives, visuals, and copy. Finally, select proper placements and ad budget.

Below, I will outline all the key steps with detailed instructions to help you achieve these requirements.

#1: Choose the right campaign objective

As I mentioned above, when running Instagram ads for photographers, advertisers need to create different campaigns for different sales stages.

Each of them corresponds to a certain campaign objective in Meta ads. 

For photographers, the common objectives include awareness, engagement/traffic, and leads/sales.

Here is your road map:

• Start with awareness ads: Showcase your best photos to attract potential clients and build brand recognition.
• Move to engagement/traffic ads: Retarget users who interacted with your awareness ads. Direct them to your service website/landing page or encourage them to message you.
• Use leads/sales ads: capture high-intent leads and drive conversions.

#2: Target the right audience

Based on your ideal customer persona, you can tailor your audience targeting options when creating ads to reach the right prospects. 

For example, if you are running wedding photography ads, you can target people based on:

• Locations: People within your service area
• Demographics: Young people in the age of marriage (22-35).
• Occasions: People who are recently engaged or searching for wedding-related content.
• Interests: People following wedding blogs and engagement ring brands.

#3: Choose the suitable ad format

There are various ad formats on Instagram, including photo ads, video ads, carousel ads, story ads, reel ads, etc. 

The best option depends on the objective of your ad campaign. For example:

• Carousel ads: Great for showcasing multiple works of art in awareness campaigns.
• Story ads: Share quick snippets of your photos and encourage Q&A sessions or website visits.
• Video ads: Show behind-the-scenes footage and client testimonials to build credibility and drive bookings.

#4: Craft high-quality ad content

Content is king in Instagram ads. To stand out in the highly competitive photography industry, you need high-quality content. This includes writing effective ad copy and making compelling ad visuals.

Here are some tips for better ad content.

Ad copy

• Start with an attention-grabbing headline.
• Keep the ad copy concise and relevant to the target audience.
• Include a clear and strong call to action to encourage the desired action. 

Ad visual

• Choose the best shots from your photos that demonstrate your style the best. 
• Feature emotionally engaging moments with candid shots rather than posed images.
• Follow Instagram’s recommended specs to keep images or videos in high quality.

Ad creative

• Perform A/B tests with different variants of ad copy, images, or videos to see what works best. 
• Maintain brand consistency in your ads through the voice, tone, color palette, and editing style.

#5: Choose the best placements

After finishing the ad creative, you need to choose placements where you want to show the ad. Different placements fit different ad objectives:

• Stories: For quick engagement and urgency-driven offers.
• Reels: For short-form video content showcasing dynamic photography styles.
• Feed: For traditional engagement content with longer captions.

#6: Set the appropriate ad budget

Finally, you need to decide on an appropriate budget for your ad. Here are some guidelines:

• Beginners can start with a small budget of $5-$10 per day for test ads to gather data without overspending.
• Once you identify high-performing ads, gradually scale up the budget while monitoring ad metrics. My tip is to duplicate the budget every 2 hours and stop scaling when results stop going up.
• Allocate more budget during peak booking seasons. For example, wedding photographers can scale up their advertising campaigns during the wedding season (May – October).

>>> Explore more: How To Run Instagram Ads For Dentists That Boost Appointments?

Additional Tips For Effective Instagram Ads For Photographers

To succeed with Instagram ads, you need to continuously monitor and optimize your ads.

 Here are some additional tips to generate more leads and bookings.

#7: Retarget interested audience

Instagram retargeting ads are often cheaper and more effective than ads that target cold audiences.

To run retargeting ads on Instagram, you need to install a Meta pixel on your website and create a custom audience group in Meta Ads Manager based on specific events.

#8: Leverage testimonials and client reviews

Social proof is a powerful tool for building customer trust. Showing real testimonials from your happy clients in ads can significantly increase conversions.

#9: Include limited-time offers

Creating urgency with time-sensitive offers can encourage clients to act immediately instead of postponing their decision.

#10: Monitor and optimize ads

Monitor key performance metrics like click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and cost-per-click (CPC) to identify what’s working and what needs adjustment. Regularly review those metrics to ensure proper budgeting and make necessary changes on time. 

By following these tips, photographers can refine their advertising campaigns to attract more high-quality leads at the optimal cost.

How Much Do Instagram Ads For Photographers Cost?

The cost of your photography Instagram ads can vary depending on factors such as the photography niche (wedding, portrait, commercial, or real estate), competition in the target market, and the quality of your ad creative. 

Compared to Instagram’s general ad cost benchmarks, advertising costs for photographers tend to be higher due to the high competition and narrow targeting of local audiences.

Based on previous projects of GDT Agency, I estimate the following benchmark Instagram ad costs for photographers:

Tip: Use a premium Facebook agency account for rent to lower your CPA.

Conclusion

Instagram ads for photographers can be a game-changer if done correctly. By defining the right objective, targeting the right audience, and creating compelling content, you can turn Instagram ads into a powerful lead-generation tool. 

Have more questions on this topic? Leave a comment below or contact us via the contact info below. 

Follow if you find it useful